Authors Note: Thanks for getting this far! There's a new character that I think you will all love to hate in this one. We've all had our fair share of annoying coworkers, but is this one the worst of them all? Thank you for reading!
-Saturn
It was a good day so far. The restaurant had been slammed all day and Charlie could barely go to the bathroom, but the tips just kept on coming for him.
Walking from the kitchen and back, there was one set of plates that worried him. They were for one of Evon's tables. As Riley's nephew, Evon could be a little bit of a slacker. Some of the other waitresses and waiters hated him because he could seamlessly get away with anything.
"Hey Charlie," the head chef called him over. "Will you bring this food to that table already? Evon's slacking off, taking an hour-long cigarette break, it seems."
"Sure thing, Ryan!" he took them immediately. Hopefully they hadn't gotten cold. The heat lamp only helps so much sometimes. There were a lot of new customers tonight.
"I can always count on you, Charlie," Ryan said.
Charlie had worked with Ryan ever since he got this job. He was a bus boy when he first started working there. It took years for Ryan to get Charlie to call him on a first name basis. The man was one that he looked up to. Ryan was like the father figure of the entire workplace. His cooking was also the main reason customers kept coming back.
"You are too Charlie," he remembered Ryan saying a few years ago. "If you had stayed a bus boy, Riley would've gone out of business a long time ago. You got that charm to you, boy."
He didn't quite know if he believed that. There were some amazing waiters and waitresses here. Charlie just had enough charisma to be able to fake a smile to even the rudest of customers.
"Sorry about the wait," Charlie walked up to Evon's abandoned table. All of them looked angry. He didn't exactly blame them. That food had been there for quite some time. "Evon isn't feeling well at the moment and went for a break outside."
"Does this happen a lot?" the brunette questioned. His eyes were a purple rage when he met them. He remembered him from earlier that day, when he was returning his wallet. It was a little upsetting to see the once happy man that was willing to give him a ride change to an aggravated customer.
Of course, Evon decided to make the table with two red-heads and an important business man angry. Red-heads wound up being some of the craziest customers around these parts, and he could already see the woman getting ready to say something. The brown-haired man seemed to be the one in charge, though. Because with one quick grab of her hand, she calmed down.
"No, Sir," Charlie said. Truth be told, it happened with Evon's tables quite regularly, but never with anyone else. "We try our best to give everyone the best service we can."
"Well, I hope that boy is alright," the woman said.
Charlie gave an internal sigh. He had given this family such a good impression of the place when they first came in. He really thought they might become regulars. Having regulars was the best thing for the restaurant to have. It all depended on the quality of the food and the service.
If only they weren't seated with Evon as their waiter.
"If there's a chance we could make up our tardiness to you, please let me know. We could always throw in some free desert."
And, just like that, he hooked them back in. The man perked right up at that, looking just as excited as when he first came in.
"Actually, we came because we heard that you guys had the best pie in the state," he gave him a playful wink. It seemed like Charlie had reeled him in with that line more than he thought when he met him earlier.
"I'd certainly say so," he smiled at them. "Our chef bakes them fresh every morning. My personal favorite is his apple pie."
"Perfect, then we'll order that now."
The dessert menu was already attached to the dinner one, so it didn't take long for them to figure out what they wanted.
Then he had to look at the man he had been avoiding eye contact with the entire night. The other red-head had been completely silent during the entire conversation. When he held the door open for all of them, it was his purple eyes that almost held him captive. They were just like the brunette's, if not just a little bit lighter.
It's not that Charlie wanted to seem rude. It's just whenever he looked at him it was difficult to tear his eyes away. And the last thing he wanted was to be frozen in place looking like an idiot as he drooled over a complete stranger.
One that he was sure was straight. That, or he was way out of his league. He tried not to show interest in anyone, but he was a sucker for muscular men.
"And would you like any dessert?" he finally looked over to him. Those purple eyes locked him in place, just like before. They were like unknown skies on a foreign land. The intensity of them was striking to say the least. His jaw was soft, though. The man was like walking out into an intense heat after you just came from a freezer.
Uncomfortable, but nice at the same time.
"I'll take some apple pie," the man finally spoke. It was soothing, like a cool breeze.
He really hoped he wasn't drooling.
"Alright," he broke the eye contact to write it on his pad. "I'll make sure it's out to you as soon as you're all done with dinner."
"Thank you so much," the woman said.
"Not a problem," he smiled at them again. "You guys enjoy."
He could feel the heat of that stare on his back the entire time he was heading for the kitchen. His heart was pounding at that point.
He needed a breather. Just a minute to get his head cleared and calm his heart. It had been a while since a man got him worked up like that. It felt like a spark almost.
But he didn't have time for a break. Dealing with tables and bringing food out truly had no break for him. So, he was just going to have to fake it until he could make it.
"Hey Charlie!"
He walked back into the kitchen to see Evon back from his break, looking pissed.
"Hey Evon, what's up?"
"What's up?!" he marched up to him. He was a beafy man who wreaked of cigarettes all the time. "Why did you bring out my tables food? You trying to steal tables from me now?!"
"Chef Ryan asked me to," he answered, grabbing more plates for one of his tables. "I told them you weren't feeling well and took a break. Oh, the free dessert is on me though," he put the order for the pies on the cue.
"Are you trying to make me look bad?" his face wrinkled into an ugly glare.
"No! Of course not! I just wanted to make sure we get more regulars."
"Evon!" Ryan interrupted them. "Don't get mad at him just because you decided to take almost an eternity on your smoke break! Charlie probably saved you from not getting tipped."
Charlie used this to slip away and get back to the tables. He would let them argue like they always did.
"You got a new hotty checking you out," his coworker, Pearl, said. He stopped walking to give her a quizzical look. She was always a gossip, and used her curves to try and get bigger tips, but she was a good person for the most part.
"One of Evon's tables has been checking you out ever since you went to deliver that food," Pearl explained, tilting her head towards the table he helped out.
She wasn't lying. The second he looked back over there, those purple eyes tried to hold him captive again.
"Oh, I doubt that," he told her. He broke the gaze again. This time, it seemed much more difficult. "They probably just need something. Evon hasn't been the best to them."
"It's a shame you didn't just nab that table from him," she winked. The light glitter around her eyes sparkled under the soft yellow lights. "You might've gotten a really good tip."
"Oh, I'll be fine without the tip," he started walking to his table. Pearl decided it would be a great idea to help him and followed.
"You like him, don't you?"
"Sure, he seems like a nice fellow," he glanced over there to see that Evon had finally gone to them. Hopefully it was to apologize.
And he was still staring at him.
He swore his heart went to his throat. He put on an act for the table he was at as Pearl helped him place all the food down.
"Are you sure it's just that?" she asked again, as they both walked to the kitchen.
"Of course," he laughed. "Why do you keep asking?"
"Because every time you look over there, you look like you're going to drool," she all but whispered to him.
Leave it to Pearl to be observant about this kind of thing.
"And he looks like he's undressing you with his eyes," she winked at him.
Now was not the time for him to be feeling like that. He was going to unravel into a mess if he let her words get to him.
Fake it 'til you make it.
"I believe two of your tables are ready to order," he replied. She looked around, and that was all he needed to be able to grab some more food and get back on the floor.
Pearl tried to talk to him some more that night, but a whole new wave of customers came in and they were all slammed. Charlie barely had enough time to grab some water and chug it down.
He did keep looking over at that table, though. He wanted to make sure that they got their dessert right when they were done eating. They deserved that much for their patience.
Once the time came, he went to the kitchen to find Evon. He couldn't find him anywhere, though. The man knew how to disappear and the perfect time to.
With a sigh, he grabbed the desserts and started walking towards the table. He would probably get yelled at about it, but that didn't matter. He made a promise to them.
"Here you guys go," he served the pie to them just as they took their last bite.
"Let me guess," the brunette looked up at him. His face showed slight annoyance, much like a frustrated boss that was one excuse away from firing an employee, "Evon isn't feeling well again?"
He gave them a sad smile before answering, "I'm just here to fulfill my promise."
"Is the free dessert being paid off by you or Evon?"
"Me, Sir," he told the truth. "I was the one who offered it."
"What's your name, son?" his eyes turned soft. He must be the father of the group. He really had the face for it.
"Charlie, Sir," he motioned for his nametag.
"Charlie," his face warmed up. He looked so much like his son it was crazy. It was strange that they were both wearing contacts though. But Charlie wasn't one to judge. "I want you to know that you've been the best service we could have ever imagined. But, I would like to have a word with your manager."
"Of course, Sir," he responded. "I'll get him right away."
Great.